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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26626681">Nightly Visitor</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwanQueenUntilTheEnd/pseuds/SwanQueenUntilTheEnd'>SwanQueenUntilTheEnd</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Once Upon a Time (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, Mild Angst, One-Shot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 07:02:08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>11,322</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26626681</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/SwanQueenUntilTheEnd/pseuds/SwanQueenUntilTheEnd</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when Regina starts receiving mysterious gifts? I mean, what're the chances that there is a stubborn idiot in love with her? Spoiler alert, the chances are pretty good.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>86</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Nightly Visitor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>First of all, this took much longer to write than I had anticipated, but I'm pleased with how it turned out. Thank you so much for reading, I hope you all enjoy! I didn't proof read, so I hope there aren't too many big errors. Rated M for language, there's more angst than I originally wanted because I couldn't figure out the ending. Takes place after Neverland, Hook basically doesn't exist in this, I think he's mentioned a couple times. Thank you again for reading! Also, apparently AO3 hates me and didn't italicize what was italicized, so I'm really sorry if that is confusing.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Day 1<br/>Regina awoke with a start as a loud crash could be heard outside her window. ‘What in the hell? What time is it?’ It was clear by how dark her bedroom was that the sun hadn’t come up yet. She glanced at her alarm clock, it read 3:15 am, and she sighed. ‘It was probably just a cat trying to find some food or something again’. Even with that reasoning, she rose from her bed and went to check on Henry to make sure he was okay and still in bed. Ever since Neverland, Regina has had a constant fear that someone was going to come and take Henry away from her again. When she opened his bedroom door, she was relieved that she could faintly make out the sleeping form of her boy under his covers. Her son was safe, and that was all that mattered to her. Satisfied that she had figured out a logical solution to the noise, as she hadn’t had people try to vandalize her property since the curse first broke and her son was safe, she padded down the hallway back to her bedroom. Regina slid back in between her soft silk sheets, and rolled onto her side. Eventually, sleep found her again.</p><p>When Regina awoke a few hours later at 7:30, she had forgotten about her interrupted sleep. She rose as she normally did, and went to make Henry bacon and eggs for breakfast before school. “Hey mom? Why are there yellow roses in the yard? I thought we only had red?” Regina turned to her young son, confused. Ever since she had created Storybrooke, the only color flowers she had planted had been red. “Henry what’re you talking about? I never had Mr. Moe plant any yellow roses.”  Yet when she turned around to look out the kitchen window into her backyard, there were three very healthy looking yellow roses that were poking out from in between her red roses. She was stunned, “how on Earth did those get there? Henry, did you do this?” Regina turned to her young son who had resumed eating his breakfast. “No mom-” his words were muffled by his eggs so he stopped to swallow before continuing “you know that I don’t know anything about plants, and I was at Emma’s all day yesterday.” Regina pondered his response even though she knew he was telling the truth. Miss Swan had dropped him off at 8pm last night as they had agreed, and the roses hadn’t been there when she had gone up to bed around 10 o’clock. “Okay Henry, why don’t you go get ready for school. It’s almost 8, and the bus will be here at 8:15.” Henry put his plate in the sink and ran up the stairs, causing Regina to yell her usual “no running inside Henry!” after him. Regina shook her head, the no running rule was one that he consistently broke. She grabbed her cup of coffee off the counter and slipped her shoes on, she wanted to go look at the newest additions to her garden. </p><p>In front of Regina stood 3 gorgeous yellow roses, they had apparently been planted there during the night as she had slept. Regina saw something odd out of the corner of her eye, and when she turned she realized just what had woken her up in the wee hours of that morning. Laying on her sidewalk were the pieces of a giant ceramic pot that had been knocked over, causing the loud crash. Apparently whoever had planted the roses had intended to plant one in a pot, but had broken it instead. Regina shook her head, amused that something as simple as putting a plant in a pot could be screwed up. She rejoined her son inside and gave him a hug, and sighed to herself as she heard the door close. ‘Who likes me enough to go through so much trouble?’</p><p> Granted, she was more popular after the news of her heroics in Neverland from the Charmings, she would hardly call herself popular. Now, instead of crossing the road to avoid her when she walked by like they did when the curse was still in place, and even those few months after it had first been broken, the townspeople would walk past her and nod their respect, however grudging it may have been. The population had still been skeptical of Regina when the Jolly Roger had moored, but the Charmings had surprised her by telling everyone how Regina had saved them. The townspeople were equally surprised, but if their precious rulers said it then it had to have happened. It was a transition that Regina was still adjusting to, for so long the people of Storybrooke had lived in fear and hate of the mayor. She supposed that it was a good thing that they were starting to like her however, it seemed to make Henry happy.</p><p>Roses were by no means cheap, especially ones of this quality. She knew that yellow roses symbolize friendship and caring, but she couldn’t think of anyone right off hand who she was that close with. The roses certainly were gorgeous, there was no denying that. Whoever had picked them out had clearly spent their time and money wisely, Regina couldn’t see a single broken branch or leaf containing black spot. It seemed that instead of sticking out like an eye sore, they helped bring her garden together and caused her to smile when she realized how amazing everything looked. She had avoided spring colors for so long because they reminded her of Snow White, but perhaps it was time for a change. Pondering this, Regina finished her coffee and went back inside, glancing one more time out the window towards her yard. Smiling, she grabbed her keys and purse, and left for work. Soon, her unknown visitor was pushed from her mind by her mayoral duties. Very soon after that, she was growing excited by the fact that tomorrow was Saturday, and she would get to spend the day with Henry. Ever since Neverland, Emma had been letting Regina spend the weekends with him, although Regina didn’t know why Emma would give up her time with Henry. Sometimes Regina worried that Henry would think that Emma didn’t want to be in his life anymore, but so far it hadn’t been an issue. </p><p>On her way home from work, Regina decided to stop by ‘Game of Thorns’, and see if Moe French had anything to do with the mysterious appearance of the roses. ‘Surely he must be able to tell me who at least purchased the roses, there’s no one else in town that sells them.’ As she walked down the street, she found herself enjoying the sun warming her back and the cool crisp air. This was rare for her, usually so wrapped up in work that she neglected to enjoy the little things. She eventually reached ‘Game of Thorns’, and pushed the door open. The little bell above the door signalled her arrival, and Moe looked up from where he was wrapping a bouquet of daisies, and smiled hesitantly. “Good afternoon Madam Mayor, can I help you find anything?” She smiled to herself that he still seemed so nervous around her, some people she appreciated the fear from. “Yes, actually. I was wondering if you could tell me who bought three yellow rose bushes within the last few days? Someone planted them in my garden last night while I was asleep and I would like to know who.” She looked at him expectantly, but the only answer he had for her was an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry Madam Mayor, I’m afraid that that’s confidential and I legally cannot share that information with you.” Regina’s smile slipped, there’s no way she heard that right. “What do you mean you ‘legally can’t share that information with me’? Did you forget that not only am I mayor, but whoever bought those flowers trespassed on my property while my son and  I were sleeping? Is that not illegal enough to warrant you to inform me?” Regina was frustrated to find that he was shaking his head, “I’m sorry Madam Mayor, but that’s really between you and the Sheriff if you want to find out that information, then the Sheriff will come to me with a warrant for the information.” Regina huffed in frustration, seeing that he clearly wasn’t going to budge and give her what she wanted. “Very well, thank you for your time Mr. French.” She nodded curtly and left the store. ‘If he won’t tell me, then I’ll just have to figure it out on my own.’ Finding herself lost in her thoughts once again like normal; she walked home, missing how the sky changed colors above her, going from blue to orange and pink as the sun started to set. </p><p>Day 2<br/>“Good morning mom! Did you have anything planned for today?” Regina turned and smiled, “well Henry, I didn’t have anything specific planned, but was there anything that you wanted to do?” Henry shook his head and shrugged from where he was seated at the counter, “I was thinking maybe we could go see Emma? She was pretty distracted yesterday, I just want to double check to make sure she’s okay.” Regina frowned as Henry looked down into his breakfast, ‘why the hell would Miss Swan offer to spend time with our son if she isn’t actually going to spend time with him. That woman is getting an earful when I see her, she should know better.’ Regina put a comforting arm around her seated son and leaned against him. “Sure Henry, how about you text her and see if she wants to come over for dinner around 6?” Henry smiled broadly at that, he loved when both of his moms sat down and had dinner with him. He pulled out his phone and shot off a quick text to his birth mother.<br/>Henry: You should come over for dinner tonight! Mom’s cooking, she says you should come at six<br/>He grew excited as three dots popped up on her end of the conversation, sometimes she was really busy and didn’t see his text for hours. <br/>Emma: Sounds great, red or white<br/>Henry looked at his mom as she read the message over his shoulder and thought that he saw a slight upturn of her lips, but before he could start thinking too in depth about that his mom was replying. “Red, tell her we’re having lasagna and if she wants to show up early she can, but the food will be ready around six.” As Henry typed out her response, she went over to the fridge to check if they had all of the ingredients for the lasagna that she had promised. “Damn. Henry, do you want to go to the store with me? I have to pick up a few things.” Henry looked up from where he was still typing on his phone, “actually I was hoping I could stay home and play Xbox with Nick? But if you want me to go with you I can, it’s not a big deal.” She smiled, she could forget how selfless and considerate her son was, even at 13. “No Henry that’s okay, go ahead and play your games. I should be back in an hour or so, make sure to text me if you decide to go anywhere.” He rose and gave her a hug, “thanks mom, I will. Could you pick up some barbeque chips too?” Henry looked up at her giving her his best puppy dog eyes, until she finally sighed and nodded her head. He smiled in victory and turned to go upstairs, once more thanking her for both inviting Emma over and the chips that he hardly ever got when he was staying with her. </p><p>Regina was just about to get into her car when she glanced up into the sky. ‘Well, the weather is nice, maybe I could walk? But then again I don’t want to carry all of the groceries home since I don’t have Henry to help me.’ Deciding that driving would be smarter than walking, she gets in her car fully. Hanging from her rear view mirror was a beautiful silver chain with a crimson apple hanging from it, next to a small gold crown that had diamonds on the points. Engraved in the apple were her initials, RM. Regina was speechless, the keychain was absolutely stunning. Never before had she been given such a precious and thoughtful gift, she was close to tears. Whoever had done this clearly wanted to tell Regina something, she had the suspicion that whoever had given her the roses was the same person who broke into her car to install her new decoration. Given that they had clearly had good intentions and nothing that she could see was missing, she decided to overlook that small detail. Now unable to contain her smile, she pulled out of her driveway to go to the store. </p><p>She still had a small smile on her face when she entered the only grocery store in Storybrooke. Regina stooped to grab a basket, and looked at her list. The first item was ricotta cheese, so she turned toward the dairy isle. Her good mood quickly ended however when she spotted the one and only Mary-Margaret looking at the ricotta cheese that she just so happened to be needing for the lasagna tonight. Regina sighed, in order to get the cheese she would have to talk to her nemesis who was slowly becoming not her nemesis. “Oh! Hi Regina! How are you! How have you been? It seems like I’ve barely seen you since we got back from Neverland last month! We really should get together sometime! I can cook! David loves this new shepherds pie recipe I’ve been trying out, I think you would like it!” Regina grimaced, time seemed to change very little about the woman in front of her. Regina forced a smile when she realized that Mary-Margaret was still staring at her, clearly expecting a response immediately about these sudden dinner plans that she had no say in. “Well dear, as pleasant as that sounds, I’ll have to take a rain check and get back to you later.  Right now I’m trying to get dinner together for my son and Emma, so if you’ll excuse me” and with that, she nudged by her to grab a tub of ricotta, and turned on her heel leaving a confused Mary-Margaret in her wake. Or so she thought, she was soon proven wrong when she heard her name being repeatedly said in an attempt to get her attention. “What Mary-Margaret, I am on a time schedule here.” Mary-Margaret had the decency to look slightly embarrassed, “I just am getting worried about Emma. She’s been really distant since Neverland and neither David nor I can seem to get through to her to get her to spend some quality time with us. Will you make sure she’s okay? She opens up to you more than she ever has to me ever since the curse broke.”  Regina sighed, feeling slightly bad for the woman who was clearly concerned about her daughter. “Yes, Ms. Blanchard, I shall check in on your grown up daughter who is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Anything else I can do for you?” She shook her head, and the mayor took that as her cue to continue down the dairy isle until she found the parmesan cheese that she wanted. Deciding that she had everything she needed for cheese, she went on her way to the tomato paste. Regina grabbed several cans of tomato paste, and put them in her basket. ‘Alright, now I just need to get chips for Henry, basil, and then I can go home and avoid Mary-Margaret by spending time with my son.’ Her luck today seemed to be very poor indeed, as when Regina entered the produce section, there stood none other than the greasy annoying Killian Jones, who was better known as Hook. ‘What the hell is he doing here? I’m amazed that he even knows what a vegetable is, he looks like all he’s had is rum and eyeliner.’ Her opinion of him really wasn’t that far off, he did tend to be a little heavy handed with the eyeliner, which was saying something because she had her fair share of eyeliner in her Evil Queen days. She had no idea what Emma saw in that man, he was crass, objectified women like no other, and looked like he hadn’t showered in a month. Since there was no way to avoid some form of interaction with Hook, she clenched her jaw and walked towards him. </p><p>Hook smirked as soon as he saw her, and her stomach rolled when she saw the look on his face. “Well, long time no see your majesty.” He gave a mock bow, and Regina scowled. “Yes, Hook, long time. Not long enough however, now if you would kindly step aside, I need to get to the basil.” He put his hand on his heart, “oh Mills you cut me deep. Don’t pretend that you’re not excited that I’m in town now.” The emphasis that he put on excited ensured that she knew exactly what he was emphasizing, and her rage boiled to the surface. “Don’t pretend that you’re now a hero because of Neverland, that still doesn’t change the fact that you let Greg and Tamara torture and almost kill me without even batting an eyelash. Don’t even think about coming near me or my son again, you will sorely regret it.” She was done with this conversation, so she pushed by him, grabbed the first basil bunch that she saw, and fled as gracefully as she could. ‘I really regret hooking up with him in the Enchanted Forest, I should’ve just castrated him and left him in the forest’ she thought bitterly to herself. She grabbed the bag of chips that Henry had requested, and hoped and prayed that no one else she ran in to would try to have a conversation with her. Regina sighed in relief when she was finally checked out and seated in her Mercedes once again. Her gloomy mood lightened slightly when she saw the keychain hanging from her mirror, and she decided to stop dwelling on Hook and go home to make dinner for Henry and Emma.</p><p>Regina sighed in relief when she pulled into her driveway, sometimes she wonders how she made it 28 years with some of the residents of Storybrooke, but then again she didn’t really have a choice. She chuckled at that, even now she’s amazed at how well some of the previously cursed fairytale folk handled not being able to go home. It wasn’t pretty at first, but once the Sheriff sided with Regina and the townspeople realized that their precious Savior was working with the former queen, the threats ended as quickly as they started. Of course, Regina’s main concern during that time was Henry, but she knew that Emma would never let anything happen to him. The blonde loved him just as much as Regina did. With that final comforting thought, she grabbed the groceries and entered the peaceful reclusion of her manor. “Henry? I’m home sweetie” Regina called up the stairs to where she could faintly hear her son's TV playing some sort of music, no doubt from the game that he had been playing since she had left. It was already almost 2 pm, so Regina decided that now would be as good of time as any to get dinner started. She hummed to herself as she set the water to boil for the noodles, and decided that her son had been right. This family dinner tonight with the three of them was much needed, and would hopefully be less disastrous than she expected. Regina quickly lost track of reality as she got busy cooking, and before she knew it Henry was downstairs setting the table and it was 5:30.</p><p>Regina paused from mixing the salad when she heard a knock on her door. She glanced up at the clock on the wall, it read 5:45. ‘Well I’ll be damned. She’s early for once in her life.’ She snorted, she definitely wasn’t going to let the blonde hear the end of it. “It’s open Emma. Come on in, I think Henry is upstairs” Regina called from the kitchen, she wanted to finish the salad before the lasagna was ready to pull out of the oven. She glanced up when she heard footsteps approaching the kitchen, and frowned when she saw the condition that Emma was in. For starters, she looked absolutely exhausted. She had attempted to cover the dark circles under her eyes, probably for Henry’s sake but had been unsuccessful. Her hair that was normally gorgeously bright, shiny, and curly, hung limply down to her shoulders, it appeared that she hadn’t showered in a few days. Her red leather jacket was covering a very wrinkled plain white t-shirt, and Regina could make out mud stains on the bottoms of her skinny jeans. <br/>‘Holy shit, no wonder Mary-Margaret was worried, it looks like she hasn’t slept in a week and has been running through the woods during that time. “Good evening Miss Swan, it’s very kind of you to grace us with your presence.” Regina had meant to make it sound like a joke, but it fell flat instead and sounded sharp, even to her own ears. She winced and went back to combining the salad. “Dinner will be ready in a few minutes if you want to go see what Henry is up to.” The blonde had yet to speak, which was quite unusual for her, even when the two of them had been at eachothers throats over Henry. The blonde cleared her throat and was studying her muddy boots intently, and Regina noticed that she was holding a bottle of wine, just like her earlier text to Henry had suggested. “Miss Swan if you’re going to just stand there, at least pour us both a glass of wine.” Emma nodded and went over to the cabinet with the wine glasses, she was familiar with that cabinet, as she had been over for dinner before when there was wine. When she moved past the brunette, Regina wrinkled her nose. Emma stank of whiskey. Regina was starting to feel uneasy, something must really be bothering the blonde, she almost never day-drank, she had had too many bad encounters with previous foster parents. “Miss Swan? What’s your issue, you look like shit.” This at least got Emma to give a small chuckle, and for the first time that night spoke. “Wow Regina, thanks. Also, don’t you think we’ve been through too much for you to ‘Miss Swan’ me?” Regina wasn’t surprised that that was what Emma focused on, that was very normal for them. “Well Miss Swan, that depends.” Regina paused to take a sip of her wine, and appreciated that Emma had gotten a good year. For the first time since entering her home, Emma made eye contact with Regina. Regina couldn’t believe what she saw, those normally bright and capturing green eyes were dull, duller than Mary-Margaret's eyes after Regina had shown her the dark spot on her heart. It was as if a part of the Savior had died. “What does it depend on? I’ve done everything you’ve ever asked of me.” Regina drew back in surprise, that hadn’t been what she had expected to hear, and she was equally displeased to realize that Emma was slightly slurring her angry words. “Miss Swan, you are sorely mistaken if you think that you can be around Henry when you are acting like this. Not only are you coming into my house and acting like a child who has gotten their toy taken away, but you are very far from sober. Henry needs a role model, he needs someone he can actually rely on. So unless you change your attitude Miss Swan, you have not in fact ‘done everything I’ve asked’, and you will not be welcome in this house. Am I clear?” Emma scoffed and shook her head, putting her glass down and turning around. “I think I’m gonna head out, tell Henry I’ll text him later.” With that, she left a very confused and concerned Regina in her kitchen, still standing in the same spot when she heard the front door close. Regina sighed, and let her head drop down as she closed her eyes.<br/> “Fuck.” At that moment the oven timer went off, and she collected herself and pulled the lasagna out of the oven. “Mom? Did Emma just leave?” ‘Of course Henry heard the door close. I can’t possibly lie to him.’ She tried for a smile, and hoped it was somewhat convincing. “Yes Henry, she left. She wanted me to tell you that she would text you later.” He frowned, and his shoulders slumped. “Oh, okay I guess. Are you guys fighting over me again? I thought you guys had gotten over that.” Regina walked over to where he was standing on the stairs, and put her<br/>arms around him in a hug. He was a couple steps up, so her arms fell around his waist instead of his shoulders like normal. “It’s going to be okay my little prince, we aren’t fighting as of yet, but if she continues this behavior we surely will be. Let’s go eat dinner while it’s hot, okay? And then I’ll take a portion over to Miss Swans and try to figure out what the hell is going on.” </p><p> An hour and a half later, Regina found herself knocking on the door to Mary-Margaret's loft, hoping that that was where Emma had gone after she left the mansion. She was just about to knock again when a confused and flustered Mary-Margaret jerked open the door. “Oh! Regina it’s you! What’re you doing here?” Regina took a step forward into the threshold, peering around the woman's shoulder. “I need to talk to Emma, is she here? She left almost two hours ago but I need to speak to her.”  Mary-Margaret frowned, and Regina’s heart sank. “I’m sorry Regina, I haven’t seen her since she left for your house, I had assumed that she would have stayed for at least a few hours.” Regina sighed, “as did I, but we had a difference of opinion and she lost her temper and stormed off.” Mary-Margaret looked at her, wearing that same concerned look from the store earlier. “You understand my concern now, yes?” “Yes, I do. Do you have any idea of where she might have gone after she left my place?” Regina stepped back, allowing Mary-Margaret to start closing her door. “Maybe try the docks, she’s commented on how the sounds of the ocean calms her and helps her think.” Regina nodded, and Mary-Margaret continued to close the door. Right before it shut, she paused, and Regina turned to look once again at her past nemesis. “Take care of her Regina, she’s more fragile than I realized.” Regina was left with that lingering statement as the door finally clicked shut. </p><p>Regina took a deep breath when she got to the docks, wrinkling her nose when it was assaulted by the salty sea air. She glanced to her left and right, trying to decide which way she should go first. When she saw a head of blonde hair sitting on a bench to her right, she took a deep breath and internally prepared herself for a verbal sparring match that she knew was going to start as soon as she sat down. Emma looked up at Regina when she heard footsteps approach, and shook her head while taking another drink from a flask that Regina had previously failed to notice. “I’m really not in the mood Regina, just go away. I know Mary-Margaret sent you.” Regina sighed and sat down, looking at Emma. The blonde looked even more exhausted than she had at the mansion, and her eyes were red-rimmed. She also had the start of a bruise forming on her cheek bone, as well as scrapes on both of her knuckles. “Emma, what happened. You look like you have gone through hell and back, and who the hell did you get in a fist fight with?” Emma chuckled, “Hook. He wouldn’t fucking leave me alone so he left me no choice. That man really can’t stand to be told no, can he.” Regina knew exactly what the blonde meant, and wasn’t surprised that she had gotten violent. What did surprise her, was that the pirates attention had been unwanted. “I thought you liked the pirate? Or at least liked him more than Baelfire.” She couldn’t keep the disdain out of her voice, Emma’s choice in men really left a lot to be desired. Emma snorted, shaking her head. “No, that’s what my parents want for me. No one ever stopped to consider asking me what I wanted with my life.” Regina knew what that was like, after all that’s what her entire marriage to the King had been. Regina could tell by the blonde's stiff body posture that she wasn’t done talking, so Regina held her tongue.</p><p> “Ever since we got back all I ever hear from anyone are questions about those two. All Henry wants to hear about is his father, he’s convinced that that man is my soulmate and that we’re going to get back together. Can you believe that? He doesn’t even care that Neal left us both in jail, he bought Neal’s bullshit excuse of ‘oh it was for the greater good’. And then, as if that’s not enough bullshit for me to be dealing with, I get to hear all about how ‘Hook saved David’s life so he’s truly a hero’ and how ‘he’s perfect for me, he’s a challenge’. First of all, he drinks, he thinks he owns all women, and he only saved David because he knew that we all would kill him if he didn’t. He’s always looking at me like I’m a meal. I’m tired of his shit, I’m tired of my parents not so subtle hints telling me that I should start dating again, I’m tired of Henry’s endless questions, god Regina I’m so tired.” </p><p>Emma stopped her rant to take another drink, and offered the flask to Regina. Regina nodded her thanks and took a drink, handing it back to Emma. She seemed lost in her thoughts, so Regina figured she could say something. “The Charmings are even more idiotic than I thought if they think you should settle for that filthy pirate. I don’t blame you for being tired, Emma, but drinking and being angry all the time for things that you can control. It certainly is not fair to Henry, who simply wants a family-” “You do not get to lecture me on being angry, Regina. You literally became the Evil Queen because you were angry. I can’t believe I opened up to you, I really thought you were different. Turns out I was wrong.” Emma stood and walked away, not looking back. Regina had no idea what to do, Emma wasn’t wrong.</p><p> Regina sighed, if she let Emma walk away as angry as she was, she might be cleaning up a trail of destruction once Emma realizes that she can use her magic with her anger. She rose and started after Emma, “Emma! Wait!” When Regina caught up with her, she grabbed Emma’s arm to both get her attention and to get her to stop and talk to her. Before Regina realized what was happening and how bad of an idea this was, she was flat on her back with Emma staring angrily at her with a ball of fire in her hand. “Miss Swan, I suggest that you consider your options before shooting that at me, I’m not someone you want to make an enemy out of.” For a moment, the docks were silent. The only thing that Regina could hear was the pounding of her heart, and the combined breathing of the two women. Regina suddenly became aware of how close Emma’s face was to her own, and for a reason she couldn’t place (or didn’t want to), she suddenly found it harder to breathe. Emma looked confused, and when she looked at her hand she rolled off of Regina. “Shit I didn’t even know I could do that, how do I put it out?” Regina chuckled, she forgot sometimes how inexperienced Emma was with magic, and now that they weren’t so close to each other she could breathe normally again. “Just close your hand dear, it formed because of your anger.” Emma did as she said, and the fireball was extinguished. “But you aren’t angry all the time, how can you make fireball so easy? Unless you’re a lot better at hiding your emotions than I think you are.” Regina gave a small smile, and folded her legs. “Once you practice your magic more it’ll come easier, you’ll be able to cast powerful spells more often without it tiring you out as much.” Regina paused, contemplating if she wanted to broach the subject again. “Look, Emma. I don’t know about you, but I personally am tired of fighting. I’m going to ask you a question, and it’s simply because I want to understand, I am in no way judging you. Okay?” Emma nodded, so Regina continued. “If your parents are really bothering you so much, why don’t you talk to them? They love you, I’m sure they aren’t intentionally being bothersome, Snow is really worried about you. She even approached me in the store today asking if I knew what was wrong.” Emma sighed and drew her knees to her chest, casting her gaze to the boards of the docks. </p><p>“Look, Emma. I know how to feels to be trapped and angry, I really do. When I got my first taste of magic and the freedom that it brought me, there was almost no hope for me. Between Rumplestilskin and my mother, I was destined to be dark. But you, Emma you have so much potential to do good things. Not just good for the townspeople who don’t deserve you, but for yourself as well. I don’t want you to go down the same path I did Emma, that results in so much heartache and loneliness. You deserve so much more than a pirate who is scum, and a man who left both you and our son to rot in jail. Trust me, they are truly not worth your time nor your energy.” During Regina’s tangent, Emma had shifted her gaze from the dock to her face, and she wore an expression that Regina didn’t quite recognize. “I don’t want to let them down, I am after all the Savior, the sheriff, and a Charming. Now that I’ve asked your question, can I ask one of my own?” Regina nodded, accepting that that was the best she was going to get out of the woman for now. “Is that lasagna for me? Cause I’m actually starving.” </p><p>After Emma ate the lasagna Regina had brought her, Regina had told her how upset Henry had been that she hadn’t stayed for dinner. Since Emma had sobered up a bit from the food, Regina had suggested that they walk back to the mansion to watch a movie with Henry to make up for Emma being distant. As they were walking, Emma’s phone began to ring, startling the both of them. “Shit, it’s my mom, I probably shouldn’t avoid her calls anymore.” Regina chuckled and shook her head, “you’re impossible sometimes. Just answer the damn phone, that ringtone is very annoying.” Emma smiled and slid the green button across the screen. “Hey mom, what’s up?” “Did Regina find you? Are you okay? Where are you?” Emma pulled the phone away from her ear because of the sheer volume of Mary-Margaret’s voice, and Regina couldn’t contain her laugh at the expression on Emma’s face. “Yeah, I’m with Regina now, we’re going back to her place to watch a movie. I’ll see you guys tonight, okay? Bye.” Regina laughed again as Emma hung up on her mother, effectively silencing her for now. “Shut up, at least I answered, you would’ve just muted it all night each time she called.” The two shared a smile. “You aren’t wrong, although I don’t believe your mother has my number, so that issue altogether will be avoided in the future.” Emma smiled mischievously, and Regina looked at her suspiciously as they walked down the sidewalk nearing Regina’s mansion. “Yeah about that, I definitely gave her your number as my emergency contact.” Regina stopped walking, and Emma continued on for a few paces before realizing that her company had fallen behind. “Why did you do that? Wouldn’t Ruby have been the correct option for your emergency contact?” “Regina, for as smart as you are, you can be incredibly oblivious.” And just like that, Emma turned on her heel and resumed her leisurely pace to their destination. By the time Regina had recovered from her surprise, Emma was standing waiting for her at her front door. “After you Madame Mayor, I don’t have a  key; your door is locked.” “Well I left our son home alone to come find you, I always lock the doors. Don’t you?” Emma rubbed the back of her neck, scuffing her shoes on Regina’s porch. “I haven’t really seen the kid much, let alone leave him alone in Mary-Margaret's loft. I feel bad, but he really is better off spending more time with you than me.” Regina shook her head, letting the blonde into her house. “We can discuss that later, after Henry goes to bed. Henry! Come downstairs please!” </p><p>Emma, and Regina were sitting on opposite ends of Regina’s nice leather couch, while Henry was sprawled on the floor with four different pillows cushioning him. Emma sat with her back against the corner, with her legs sideways towards Regina, while the mayor sat facing the tv completely with her feet on her ottomon. Henry was so excited that Emma had come back, that Emma had let him pick whatever movie he had wanted. “Well kid, what did you decide on?” “Jurassic Park.” “The first one I hope, that’s a classic. Thanks for watching a movie with us kid, I’m sorry I left earlier.” Emma’s apology was met with silence, and her shoulders sagged as the previews started for their movie. Regina placed a comforting hand on Emma’s shin, and Emma smiled. ‘Maybe this night won’t be so shitty after all.’  </p><p>By the end of the movie, both women had shifted so that their legs were in each other's laps, and Henry was passed out on the floor where he had been when the movie had started. Throughout the movie, Henry hadn’t said a word to Emma, even though she had tried to appeal to his sense of humor. Regina couldn’t blame Henry for being so mad, both Henry and Emma needed to work on their communication skills, as this issue could have mostly been avoided with communication. She glanced up at Emma, who she found to be watching Henry with sad eyes. “It won’t always be like this, you know. He’ll get over it, he loves you too much to stay angry for too long.” Emma looked over as Regina’s soft words reached her ears, and she gave a soft smile and nodded. “I know. I’m glad he has you, you’ve definitely been his rock through all of this.” Regina smiled, and lifted Emma’s feet off of her lap and set them on the couch as she rose. “I’m going to put Henry to bed, you’re welcome to stay if you want.” Regina crouched next to Henry, and gently shook his shoulder. “Come on my little prince, it’s time for bed.” He stood and rubbed his eyes, an action that reminded Regina of a much younger (and more oblivious) Henry. “Say goodnight to Emma and give her a hug.” He grudgingly did so, which Emma greatly appreciated. When Regina put her arm around her tired son and turned hum towards the stairs, Emma made eye contact with Regina and mouthed thank you. The other mother smiled gently and nodded, disappearing up the stairs. </p><p>Emma sighed and fell back against the couch, rubbing her face with her hands and staring forlornly at the ceiling. ‘What the hell am I thinking, I should just leave. There’s no way she’s going to invite me for a drink after earlier tonight, I'm lucky enough that it’s Friday night so Henry could stay up for the movie. I really must be a special kind of stupid if I really think Regina is gonna want to spend more time with me than she has to.’                                                                                                </p><p>The sound of approaching footsteps shook her out of her thoughts, and she raised her head off the back of the couch to watch Regina re-enter the room. “How’s he doing?” Regina looked over, surprised to see Emma watching her intently. “Tired. He’s had a long last few weeks, I think he’s struggling to adjust to going back to school and having a normal schedule as opposed to the chaos he experienced in Neverland with Pan.” Emma nodded, she could only imagine what their son had gone through. ‘Fuck it, I can’t do this anymore. She deserves to know the truth.’ “So, Regina. Did you like your keychain?” Regina froze, sure that she had heard wrong. “Excuse me?” Emma smiled, amused that she still managed to surprise the Mayor. “Your keychain? Hanging from your mirror? You had to have seen it.” “You’re the one that broke into my car?” Emma laughed. “Yes, that was me. I wanted to get you something special and-” “Wait, are you the one who planted those roses in my garden the other night?” Emma looked bashful, and turned pink. “Yeah, I’m sorry about the mess on your sidewalk, I didn’t want to risk turning a light on because I figured that I had woken you. Before you reprimand me for trespassing and getting you these gifts, will you let me explain?” Regina nodded, so Emma took a deep breath, this story was gonna take a while. </p><p>“Regina, when I first met you, I was so intimidated. You’re gorgeous and powerful, and you love Henry so much it’s scary sometimes. Even when we were fighting, I knew that even if I lost, Henry would still be safe and loved. All my life, I’ve been looking for somewhere to call home. I had thought that my home was here, with Mary-Margaret and David. But then, I realized in Neverland that I was never going to have the parents and the family that I’ve always wanted. They're trying to have another kid, and just like that not only do I not have a place to live, but I lost the only family that I’ve known. I know that that isn’t what they intended, but there’s no way that this new kid isn’t going to replace me. I’m so fucking tired of being replaced, Regina. I’m tired of my parents acting like this isn’t going to change anything, and I’m tired of Hook acting like he has earned my love just because David approves of him. Hook never takes the time to even attempt to get to know me, and Mary-Margaret is stuck on the idea; just like Henry, I might add, that since Neal is back in Storybrooke, that we’re going to get back together. And before you can ask, no, I have no plan on getting with him, and he is well aware of that and has accepted it. There’s another reason that I got into a fight with Hook earlier, I didn’t want to tell you but I’m going to anyway. Hook had the audacity to call you ‘bitch queen’ to my face and I had had enough of his attitude.” </p><p>Emma paused, jerked out of her story by a snort and a chuckle from Regina, who rose and went over to the inn table that had a glass of cider on it. “Do you think you can handle a drink, dear? I feel like this story is gonna need some alcohol.” Her guest nodded, so Regina poured her a small glass and a glass for herself, then retook her place on the couch from where she had been sitting before. They both took a sip of their drinks, and Regina signaled to continue her story.</p><p>“When we got home from Neverland, I couldn’t figure out what was the matter with me. I couldn’t sleep, I was always in a horrible mood, and I never wanted to be around anyone. But then, one night, it hit me. Before Neverland, I was used to going to sleep alone. But now, my quiet room in Mary-Margaret's loft was too quiet. I realized that I had grown used to falling asleep next to someone, and that someone is completely oblivious to how I feel.” </p><p>Emma paused to take a drink, and Regina took a mirroring drink while she tried to absorb all of the info laid out in front of her. “Emma, are you in denial that you’re in love with Hook? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?” As soon as the words left her mouth, Regina realized that that had been the last thing that Emma had wanted nor expected to hear. </p><p>Emma looked over at her in disbelief, and she set her drink down on a coaster on the inn table. She rose and started pacing, running her hands through her knotted hair in frustration. “No, Regina. If I was in love with him do you think I would’ve punched him in the face? Don’t you know me at all?” Regina paused, that had been the only thing she could think of that made sense, Hook had been the person that Emma had spent the most time with in Neverland besides herself. “Emma, you aren’t making any sense.” At that, Emma sighed heavily and plopped on the floor. “Regina, who did I sleep by most nights? Whose company was the only one that I actually sought out and enjoyed? Think about it, Regina.” Regina thought back to those worry-filled nights in Neverland. She thought about how Emma had seemed to smile genuinely when talking to Regina, and how she wanted nothing to do with either of the men seeking her attention. She thought about how when Snow had moved Emma bedding to be next to her parents, and how Emma had almost thrown a fit and had drunk almost all of Hook's rum that night, and how after that her exclusive bedding spot had been next to Regina. “Oh.” Finally, it dawned on the brunette. When she turned to look at Emma, who was still seated on her floor, she saw that her guest was smiling sadly at her. “I’ve been wanting to tell you something ever since that day in the mines with the trigger, but the timing has never been right. I’m in love with you, Regina. I have been ever since the first time I saw you. I know you don’t feel the same, but I wanted to tell you.” Before Regina had the chance to say anything in response however, Emma was on her feet and heading towards the front door. “I’m gonna go Regina, I’ll see you around.” By the time that Regina realized that she had needed to respond to Emma, Emma had left through her front door and Regina was left alone once again. </p><p>Emma sighed as she walked down Main Street to the loft, comforted only by the fact that she was no longer keeping any secrets from the most important person in her life. ‘Well, at least the weather is not too cold for my walk home, and at least she just seemed surprised instead of disgusted.’ Regardless of how Regina reacted, Emma knew that it was very unlikely that she would ever see her again. ‘Some things just aren’t meant to be. Now, to go home and drink my sorrows away.’ </p><p>“Emma please will you just tell what’s going on? Did you have another fight with Regina? Please sweetie, I can’t help you if I don’t know what’s going on.” Emma ignored her mother's pleas, instead pouring herself another glass of whiskey. “You know what Emma, I give up. I have been standing here for ten minutes trying to get you to open up to me, and you won’t even look at me! Good night, Emma. Make sure you pass out in your bed tonight instead of the kitchen counter, if you don’t mind.” Before Mary-Margaret could decide if she wanted to apologize for her sharp words, she turned and went into her room and closed the door. </p><p>By the time there was a knock on her door, Emma was halfway through her bottle of Crown and was staring solemnly at a picture on her phone. The picture was one that Ruby had taken a few weeks ago when they had spontaneously decided to do a family dinner at Granny’s. Regina had sat next to Mary-Margaret, choosing to let Emma sit next to Henry. They were all smiling at the camera brightly, but all Emma could focus on was how happy Regina looked. The brunette was positively glowing, she had been exceptionally happy that night when Mary-Margaret had extended the invitation of family dinner to her. Upon looking closer at the screen, Emma realized that not all of them had been looking at the camera. In the picture, Emma was looking at Regina, with a smile on her face. She sighed and led her head thud against the counter next to her phone. Someone knocked on the door again, and she let out a muffled “it’s open”. The room was silent except for the door opening, and Emma’s breathing that was muffled since her face was still pressed into the counter.</p><p> “Emma, you can’t solve your problems with drinking until you either pass out or die of alcohol poisoning.” She turned her head to locate the voice that had just spoken, and there, standing in her living room, was Regina. She sighed again and turned her head away. “What’re you doing here Regina? I’m not hurting anyone.” “Emma, please come sit over here with me. I need to talk to you, okay?” Emma looked over to see that Regina had sat down on the couch and was watching her carefully. “If I sit by you will you leave? I have a bottle to finish and a hot date with my bed.” Regina nodded, so Emma rose and sat next to her. </p><p>“Look, Emma. I’m not going to lie to you, you caught me by surprise. I didn’t realize how you felt about me, and I should have said something to you instead of just sitting there like an idiot. I know how it feels to put yourself out there and then get rejected and I am so very sorry that I made you feel like that.” Regina reached forward, and took one of Emma’s hands between the both of hers. “I also think that it’s unfair of you to automatically assume that I could never feel the same about you. To be completely honest with you, I cannot stand the thought of you with that dirty pirate. It absolutely infuriates me and makes me sick. You deserve someone who makes your whole world light up, someone who makes you excited to wake up every morning. Emma, I’m not that person. I’m not good, I destroy everything that I come into contact with and everyone that I’ve ever loved has died. You deserve a happy ending, but that isn’t me. That’s all I wanted to say, I hope we can still be friends, I want Henry to still have both of his mothers in his life.” Regina rose, and paused in the doorway when she heard Emma’s quiet response. “I’m never going to find someone like you to love someone like me.” Those words echoed in her head all the way home. </p><p>Day 3<br/>Since it was Saturday, Regina didn’t feel the need to get up super early like she normally did. In fact, she stayed in bed so late that Henry popped his head into her room to check on her. “Mom? Are you feeling okay? Are you sick? Do you need anything?” She smiled, she was so proud of the young man that he was becoming. “I’m alright Henry, just haven’t felt like getting out of bed yet.” He nodded in understanding and disappeared from her room. Regina sat up and held her head in her hands. She hadn’t slept at all when she had gotten home from Emmas. All she could think about was how sad Emma had looked when she had walked away after telling that she loved her, and how she could see Emma’s spirit breaking in her eyes when Regina told her that she wasn’t the blondes happy ending. In all of Regina’s life, she had never met anyone quite like the savior. Throughout the three years that Emma had been in the Mayor's life, she had grown to be a huge part of her life. Now, Regina had probably destroyed that friendship, and she had no one to blame but herself. When Emma had told her her feelings, Regina had been in shock. In her mind, there was no way that the Savior could possibly reciprocate the feelings that Regina had been hiding for a little over two years. And now, when she did reciprocate, Regina had screwed it up because she was scared. Regina sat down on her bed, desperately thinking of a way she could fix this, the regret and pure sadness and longing were starting to consume her. Henry popped his head back into her room, and she looked up at her son. “Is it okay if I run to Granny’s for some lunch? I’ll only be gone for an hour or so.” “Sure honey, I didn’t realize it was that late, if you want I can make you something?</p><p>Regina was in the middle of making herself a cup of coffee, when her doorbell rang. ‘That’s odd, no one ever comes over unless it’s Emma.’ When she opened the door however, she came face to face with a very angry Snow White. “Snow? What are you-” Snow stepped past her into her foyer, and Regina sighed in annoyance. “I don’t believe I said you could come in. I’m going to ask you one more time, what the hell are you doing here?” No sooner had Regina finished her sentence and closed her door, her unwelcome guest was in her face. “Cut the crap Regina, you know exactly why I’m here.” Regina took a step back so that she had her personal space bubble again, and took a breath to both compose herself and give herself time to think of a response. “I really have no idea, I’m not aware of anything I have done recently that warrants not only you barging into my house without so much as an invitation, but also you getting into my face. I don’t know why you seem to be so mad at me, I haven’t done anything wrong to my knowledge. Now unless you intend to enlighten me, kindly get the hell out of my house.” “You had absolutely no right to break Emma’s heart so effortlessly, she put herself out there completely out of her comfort zone and you shot her down without even a second thought.” Regina was taken aback, she had had no idea that the other woman had been home, she hadn’t realized that Emma and hers conversation had been overheard. Mary-Margaret’s face was flushed, her eyes bright with anger and determination, although whether it was determination to defend Emma or kill Regina, Regina wasn’t quite sure. Regina sighed and gestured to the kitchen. “Come sit, please let me explain.” The woman hesitantly sat at the counter while Regina resumed her task of making coffee. “Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee? Tea? Poison?” Mary-Margaret was not amused, and declined anything to drink. Regina sighed, grabbed the stool next to her guest, moved it to across the counter, and sat. </p><p>“As you know, my past romantic history leaves many things to be desired. Everyone that I have ever loved or that I thought I could be happy with has died. I know that what I said was harsh, and I know that it broke her heart. It may seem cruel to you, but I don’t want her to die, Snow. I needed her to see that loving me is a death sentence, and I needed to push her away. My intention had been to be cruel, but what I hadn’t anticipated was that it broke my heart more than I ever thought possible. I’m not expecting you to believe me, but I have been in love with your daughter for quite a while now. I know that that may be hard to hear, but-” “Actually Regina, that was all I needed to hear. You fix this, and you fix it now, or so help me I will make the rest of your life exceedingly miserable. Am I clear?” When Regina nodded with a confused look on her face, Mary-Margaret nodded to herself, and walked out of Regina’s house. “What the hell just happened?” Regina was only answered by the echo of her own voice. She sighed sadly, having no clue how to even begin to fix the damage that she had done. All she could do now, was give it time, and hope that the fallout with Emma wouldn’t be as bad as she feared. <br/>Two months later<br/>Regina could not have been more wrong that day Mary-Margaret paid her a visit. Two months after Emma had confessed her feelings and been rejected, and she could count the times she had seen the blonde on one hand. Not only that, but Mary-Margaret had also been giving her the cold shoulder, along with about half of the town; including Henry. Apparently, he had found out about what happened and wasn’t one bit pleased with his adopted mother. She had tried to explain it to him, but somehow he had gotten it in his mind that they were soulmates, so he refused to listen to any of the excuses she tried to give him. Regina was quickly reaching the end of her rope, she didn’t know how much longer she could take this. The mayor had gotten to the point where she has been working from home for the last month, finding that for some odd reason, she was unable to take the cold stares and whispers anymore. Clearly she just didn’t have the stomach for it anymore, if only her mother could see her now. She snorted and shook her head, she knew that if Cora was still alive, she would be ashamed of the weak person that Regina had become. Regina groaned in frustration and put her head on her desk with a thud. No matter how hard she tried to deny it or move past it, two things were very evident; she was absolutely miserable, and it was all that damn blondes fault. Her frustration boiled over, which she solved by repeatedly hitting her head against her desk, increasing the force behind it until she had to stop because she had caused a fixture frame to topple over and land face down on her desk. She sighed, picked up the picture, and looked down sadly. The picture was one that had been taken right before Henry had been taken to Neverland. It was a family picture that Emma had taken selfie style, of the three of them down on the beach. Henry had been sitting by Regina, when Emma had said “now” and Regina had found herself suddenly squished in between Henry and his other mother, and Emma had been laughing while she had taken the picture, because “your expression is priceless”, she had later told the indignant brunette. Looking at the picture now, she could see how happy Henry had been. Wistfully, she put her hand over Emma’s laughing face and closed her eyes and bowed her head. Who was she kidding, she hadn’t been happier than that day in years. Whether Emma hadn’t noticed, or noticed and said nothing, while the blonde and her conniving son were looking at the camera, Regina had turned her head to look indignantly at Emma. Then, her eyes had been unreadable simply because she didn’t want to acknowledge what her eyes told anyone who was looking. Now, Regina knew better. Sighing again, she replaced the picture in it’s rightful position on her desk and turned back to the paperwork that was slowly building, as she lost her will and motivation to exist. After staring at it for ten minutes, she patiently ran her hand through her hair and stood, and proceeded to start pacing her office. She was startled by a timid knock on her door, and she opened it to find Henry, wearing a mask of indifference that he had to have learned from her, Emma never had been good at hiding her emotions. </p><p>“Mom, I have made an important decision.” Regina held back a smile, he really had picked up a lot of her mannerisms. “Oh? What’s that dear?” He looked up at her completely straight faced, “you are going to write Emma a love letter, and I am going to deliver it. Now get crackin” and with that, he turned and went back upstairs. ‘Oh what the hell, what do I have to lose.’ Regina sat down, grabbed a couple sheets of paper, her favorite fountain pen, and got writing. Ten minutes later, all she had written was </p><p>Emma<br/>My Dearest Emma<br/>Miss Swan</p><p>Frustrated, she crumpled the paper into a ball and threw it into the trash can. She sighed and put her head into her hands despairingly. ‘Get it together, you’ve conquered kingdoms in less time than it’s taken you to write this stupid letter.’ Determined, she put her pen to the paper once again.</p><p>Dear Emma, <br/>I’m not going to lie to you, I am writing this letter because our son demanded that I do it, and you know as well as I do that I can never tell him no. I can’t stand that you won’t come over for dinner or drinks anymore, or that you won’t accompany Henry to the door when you drop him off. I can’t believe that you told Ruby what happened, although that’s your right I suppose. I am not surprised however that Miss Lucas proceeded to tell everyone in town who would listen to the newest town gossip. Hell, even your own mother has deemed me unworthy of her “help”, which  is a place I am unfamiliar with. I didn’t realize even our son had found out about our falling out, although I don’t know how much he actually knows because he won’t speak to me outside of necessity. Emma, please come back into my life. My life is miserable without you, I can’t sleep, eating makes me nauseous, and you consume my every waking thought. Damn you for being so important to me, damn you Emma Swan. I am so incredibly in love with you, it broke my heart to turn you away. You need to understand Emma, I only pushed you away because every person who has loved me and who I have loved in return. Both my father, and my dear Daniel. I don’t think I could survive if something bad happened to you, Emma I am so deeply in love with you. Somehow you have become the most important person in my life, and you haven’t even spoken a word to me in two months. Please, Emma, if you can find it in your heart to forgive me, I would really love it if you would go on a date with me.<br/>Yours truly, <br/>Regina </p><p>Later that night, she gave the letter to Henry and sent him to the loft to give the letter to Emma like he had promised he would. Now, it was around ten pm and she was getting ready for bed, when suddenly her doorbell rang. Checking that Henry was in bed and his door was shut all of the way, she descended the stairs and opened the door. Along with a very cold breeze, a very upset blonde stormed into her foyer. “Emma? Is everything okay?” Emma twirled on her heel and got right into Regina’s face, and Regina was faced with bright green eyes that were filled with anger. In her fist was what Regina was suspected was her letter, and she braced herself for the fight she knew was coming. She only hoped that it was verbal rather than physical, there was no way in hell she was going to lay a hand on Emma. “Did you mean it?” Regina balked, that was not what she expected to come out of Emma’s mouth. “Regina, did you mean it. Please  don’t fuck with me.” Emma’s anger had faded, and all that filled her eyes now was despair, and maybe a little bit of hope. “Yes, Emma. I meant all of it.” Emma took a shaky breath, “do you really expect me to believe you Regina? You shot me down without even the slightest hesitation, how do I know that this isn’t a trick?” “Emma. Look at me. Does it look like I was lying? Do I look like someone who has been celebrating a success of any kind at all?” Emma paused at that and actually looked at Regina, and she had to admit she had a point. Regina looked exhausted, and her cheeks were sunken in slightly. If Emma had to guess, she would say that she hadn’t been eating or sleeping very much. So it appeared that that at least was truthful. “Regina you look like shit.” Regina snorted, and wrapped her arms around her midsection self consciously. “Eloquent as ever, Miss Swan. Is there anything else that you wanted clarified?” Emma crossed her arms, still unconvinced. “So I’m supposed to believe that just like that you want to be with me? I need more proof Regina. I don’t know if I trust you anymore.” Regina’s shoulders slumped, and she felt as if she had just gotten punched in the stomach. “Emma what do you want from me?” Emma was mildly surprised by the desperation in the brunette's voice, she sounded close to tears and her eyes looked shinier than they had a second ago. Emma stared hard at her eyes for a moment, before quietly saying “I need you to tell me in person. I need to hear you say it.” Without blinking, Regina maintained eye contact with the desperate blonde. “Emma I’m in love with you.” Emma surged forward as if she had been using all of her restraint, and slammed her lips against Regina’s. Regina desperately kissed her back, trying to convey all of the words she wanted to say. Regina finally broke the kiss, holding her face mere inches away from Emma’s, as if she was afraid one of them was going to run away. “Emma go on a date with me. Please?” Emma laughed and nodded, there was no place she would rather be.</p><p>The End</p>
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